Freedom Isn't Free
by GrandOldPenguin
Summary: Feeling sorry for Marlene after she had gone wild in Central Park, Skipper sets out to give her another shot at leaving the zoo. Can he pull it off? And at what cost? The plot of this story immediately follows the actual TV episode "Otter Gone Wild."
1. Setting Things Right

**My motivation for writing this story:** I felt bad for Marlene that she was never able to get a snow cone in the "Otter Gone Wild" episode, and that her ferocious condition when outside of the zoo seemed likely to prevent her from being able to ever try leaving it again. I hoped that someday the penguins could give Marlene another shot at exposure to the outside world, but then I figured _"Why 'hope' when I can make it happen myself?"_ And thus I try to set things right.

**Where the show left off:** In the actual TV episode "Otter Gone Wild," Marlene had been left inside of a cage at the zoo entrance as Julien and the four penguins walked away, seemingly forgetting about Marlene still being caged. This story begins where the show left off.

* * *

Five minutes had passed already, and Marlene, still caged from when she had gone wild in Central Park, began to wonder if her friends even knew she was still there.

"This has gone on too long to be funny," she said to herself. "It's bad enough that I have no idea how I got here and that Julien claims that I love him, but now they all leave me?"

Little did Marlene know that she was not the victim of a cruel practical joke; she had been caged for cause. She had gone with the penguins and Julien to get a snow cone, but lost her mind along the way.

Meanwhile, as Marlene sat down inside of the cage to wait until someone came to release her, Skipper and his penguin force were leaving the zoo through a different entrance for an important mission.

"Boys, we have a critical mission ahead of us, perhaps one of life or death," Skipper told his team as they waddled out of the zoo. "Central Park has an extensive video surveillance system, so everything that happened out there today is on record. While we know the parts of the park that are not seen by the cameras, circumstances beyond our control today forced us off of those safe paths. Men, we need to destroy the evidence."

"I understand that this is an important mission, sir," Private spoke up, "but isn't 'life or death' a little strong?"

Skipper then stopped leading his men and turned around to address Private's question. He looked Private dead in the eye as he spoke.

"Private, you're right, it probably isn't a life or death matter for us," Skipper stated. "But Marlene was out in the park, too, and for her it's a different story. If any human ever was to recognize her as the zoo's otter, because she went so crazy, they might think that she was rabid or extremely aggressive. I fear that–"

Skipper could not complete his sentence, and instead he turned away from his team to hide his emotion from them. He closed his eyes and began rubbing his head with his flippers.

"Are you OK, sir?" Kowalski asked after a moment went by.

Skipper then turned around to face his team once again.

"I fear that they would put her to sleep," Skipper then said. "I will not allow that to happen, but the potential for tragedy is real."

The other three looked at Skipper in horror of the thought of Marlene being euthanized.

"I fully comprehend that success of this mission is vital," Kowalski declared.

"Don't worry, Skipper, we won't fail," Private affirmed.

"Let's move!" Rico exclaimed.

Skipper then led his men over to a building which housed the office where the surveillance footage was recorded on tape. They were thankful to find no humans around to interfere with their operation upon entering into said office.

"Those humans and their lunch breaks," Skipper commented, "at least we can count on them to do something right."

The team then looked at the many TV screens in the office. Each screen was divided into sixths, each section of which displayed a different angle live view of Central Park. It didn't take long before Kowalski spotted the TV that was showing the views of the area where the situation had unfolded earlier.

"I've got it," Kowalski said as he tapped that particular TV screen with a flipper. "It's TV number 16."

Upon hearing this, Rico waddled over to where the VCRs were and gave a swift roundhouse kick to the one corresponding with TV 16. The tape ejected, and he handed it to Skipper.

"Well done, boys," Skipper said. "Rico: Grenade me."

Rico then regurgitated a pineapple grenade and gave it to Skipper.

"Time to destroy the evidence," Skipper said as he began to head outside.

As the other penguins began to follow him, Skipper called them off.

"I've got this," he said. "You boys stay here and cover me. Make sure no humans are coming."

Skipper, however, had his own reason why he didn't want his team to join him: he wasn't really going to blow up the tape. Not yet, anyway. First, he had to do the hard thing; first, he had to show Marlene. It was just the right thing to do.

"I'll make things right, Marlene," Skipper said to himself as he threw the live grenade, but only for its sound to be used to cover his true intention.

Skipper then hid the tape under his left flipper and went back inside to rejoin his men. After the group spent a few minutes talking together about what kind of fish Alice might be bringing later, Private suddenly gasped at something important that they all had forgotten. Or rather, someone.

"Skipper, isn't Marlene still caged by Entrance 2?" Private asked, pulling on his leader's flipper to get his attention.

"Holy Hoover Dam with smoked salmon!" Skipper exclaimed, so caught off guard by the reality of Marlene still being caged that he couldn't even speak straight. "You're right! We just got so distracted talking briefly to Julien and then with our mission that I totally forgot!"

"Well, let's go, then," Kowalski stated.

"Uh-huh!" Rico agreed.

"Boys, it's all my fault for forgetting," Skipper said. "If it's the same with all of you, I'd like to just handle this one myself. Besides, there are two more things I need to do anyway."

"What?" Private asked.

"They're filed under 'classified' for now, but I'll let you boys know if they turn out the way I'm hoping," Skipper replied.

With that, Skipper left his team to head over to release Marlene, taking with him the surveillance tape that he still had hidden under his left flipper. Before he went over to her, however, he made a quick stop at the snow cone stand in Central Park, where he got two rainbow snow cones. It was step one in trying to make things right.

When he approached the cage, Skipper noticed that Marlene was laying down inside of it; she had been there so long that she had decided to take a nap.

"Knock, knock," Skipper said as he tapped the cage with his right flipper, the snow cones hidden behind his back in his left.

"Aaahh!" Marlene screamed as she was startled awake, noticing then that Skipper was there. "Oh, it's only you, Skipper. It's you! Hey, what took you so long?"

"The truth is that we all got distracted and honestly forgot," Skipper said as he opened the door on the cage. "But this was my responsibility, so the blame is all mine. I'm sorry."

"I can let go the fact that you made an honest mistake, but why was I caged to begin with?" Marlene asked as she climbed out of it. "It wasn't a very nice joke for all of you to play on me."

"Marlene, I know that we don't always agree on things, but you know that you can always trust me, right?" Skipper asked.

"I thought that I could trust you the most of anybody," Marlene replied.

"You still can trust me the most of anybody, and I need you to right now," Skipper told her seriously. "I assure you that there never was any joke against you."

Marlene knew that her strong-willed friend could never speak such words unless they were true, so her faith and trust in him quickly came back.

"What happened?" Marlene asked.

"There's something I need to show you, but not this minute," Skipper replied. "Right now, before they melt away, I have something to cheer you up."

Skipper then presented Marlene with one of the snow cones that he had hidden behind his back, taking the other for himself.

"Cheers," Skipper said as he and Marlene tapped their snow cones together, Skipper then beginning to eat his.

"So, this is a snow cone?" Marlene said as she took her first bite. "It is pretty good."

"I knew that you would like it," Skipper said with a smile.

The two then continued to eat their snow cones, then drank the sweet liquid of what had melted in the bottom. Skipper then threw away his and Marlene's empty paper cones and then he returned back to where they had been standing.

"The fun's over, isn't it, Skipper?" Marlene then asked. "How bad is what you have to show me?"

"We need to go over to your habitat so I can use your VCR," Skipper told her as he put a flipper on her back. "But don't worry, I'll be with you the whole time that you watch it."

"Watch it? What is it?" Marlene asked as she and Skipper began walking to her habitat.

"It's security camera footage from Central Park," Skipper replied.

"But I don't remember a thing about Central Park," Marlene said. "Was I there?"

"I'm not sure why you can't remember, but yes, you were there," Skipper replied.

The two soon arrived at Marlene's habitat, and Marlene took a seat on her couch as Skipper put the tape he had tucked under his left flipper into the VCR. Skipper then turned on the TV and waddled over to sit next to Marlene on the couch.

"You can forget about having popcorn watching this one," he slightly joked before getting serious. "I tried to keep upbeat and focused on my mission throughout what you are about to see, but the whole time it secretly hurt me inside to see you this way. Normally, I would just ignore things like this and try to move on, but I believe that you would want to know the truth."

Skipper then picked up the remote control.

"I'm sorry," he said as he pressed the play button.

With Skipper beside her for support, Marlene then watched the tape of herself going wild in Central Park. She couldn't help but hate herself for what she saw, not to mention how embarrassed she felt. She was thankful that it was at least only Skipper there watching with her.

When the video came to the point where she had been caged, Marlene reached out and tapped Skipper on the shoulder.

"Stop the tape, Skipper," she said. "I understand why I was caged now, and I don't blame you or the others for doing it."

As Skipper stopped the tape, Marlene began to lose it. Throughout all she had watched, she had been too shocked to cry, but she could no longer keep her emotions in control.

"I'm so ashamed," Marlene said as she buried her face in the arm of the couch and began to cry.

"Please don't cry, Marlene," Skipper said.

"And why not?" Marlene asked.

Skipper put a flipper on Marlene's back and patted her.

"Because I'm here for you," he said. "Tears don't solve anything, but friends can."

Skipper was one to usually keep unemotional about things, but he would do anything to comfort Marlene when she truly needed a friend. His words of reassurance were enough to convince Marlene to stop crying and bring her head back up.

"Thank you," she said as she briefly tapped on Skipper's nearest flipper. "Can I talk to you a little about what I just saw?"

Skipper nodded.

"That creature was so unlike me," Marlene said. "All you wanted to do was show me the outside. I'm so sorry that I ruined your day by making you and the others have to take me down. And I can understand now why Julien thought that I loved him: I went after him like he was my boyfriend. That's–"

"That's the stuff of nightmares, Marlene," Skipper jumped in with.

"Well, I was going to say, 'That's not what I wanted,'" Marlene said. "I mean, don't get me wrong, Julien is a friend of mine, but I don't want to go out with the guy. He's just not my type on so many different levels. He means well, but he's the kind of guy you'd expect to marry a wooden doll or something."

"I hear you," Skipper said, though he was slightly embarrassed, for he had once been briefly married to a wooden doll himself, though he had never talked with Marlene about it.

"I can't believe that I kissed him," Marlene declared. "I'm not supposed to be doing things like that. And why him instead of you or one of the other penguins? Is it because we're both mammals?"

"No," Skipper said. "I think it's just because you were crazy then and went for the craziest animal you could find. And Julien takes the cake on that one."

Then, without warning, Marlene suddenly leaned over and gave Skipper a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Hey, what was that for?" Skipper questioned.

"I feel the need to stay neutral between you and Julien," Marlene replied. "Everything's even now."

"But you were – and I say this with all due respect – mentally unbalanced when you kissed Julien," Skipper stated. "You're perfectly sane now."

"Just trying to square things up," Marlene replied.

"_Square things up?_" Skipper questioned, but in a friendly way because he knew that his friend was truly good-intentioned. "What if I wanted to 'square things up' back and suddenly gave you a kiss on the cheek?"

"I know you too well, Skipper," Marlene replied. "I know that you'd never do that. It's part of the trust I have in you; it's part of the respect we have for each other."

"Right you are," Skipper said. "But do you mind if we now move on to a different topic?"

"That would be fine," Marlene replied.

"Well, giving you a snow cone was one of the things I wanted to accomplish with you this afternoon, but I had one more thing, too," Skipper said.

"And you showed me the tape of my madness and talked to me about it, so that's it, right?" Marlene asked.

"No, Marlene, the tape was only to set-up the next thing I was hoping you'd be willing to do," Skipper said as he reached out a flipper to touch Marlene's arm. "Trust me on this one, I wouldn't be asking if I didn't think you could do it. It would make me feel so good if you could do this."

"What?" Marlene asked.

"Would you like to give leaving the zoo another shot?" Skipper asked.

"_Another shot?_" Marlene asked. "Are you crazy? You may not know what caused me to go wild, but I bet I can figure it out: I was overwhelmed with the sudden freedom of the outside world."

"Then we can do it slowly," Skipper suggested. "It really doesn't need to happen all today. I'll work with you to gradually introduce you to the outside world over time."

"Skipper, I don't know," Marlene said. "This all happened because I was born in captivity; it's who I am."

"Marlene, I don't believe that being born in captivity defines who you are," Skipper said. "I know some good men who were born in captivity."

"Who?" Marlene wondered.

"Well, there's Kowalski and Private to start with," Skipper said. "And then there's – well – there's me."

"_You were born in captivity?_" Marlene asked. "You couldn't have been. You're not afraid of anything, and you seem to be able to just leave the zoo like it was nothing. I don't believe it."

"Marlene, it's absolutely true," Skipper stated. "I was born – well, to be correct, I hatched – at the Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium on June 20, 1989. And I didn't even step foot into the world outside of a zoo until I was more than four years old and at a zoo I had been transferred to overseas."

"Well, how did you take your first step out?" Marlene asked.

"Very carefully," Skipper replied. "Just like you're going to do."

"Why, Skipper?" Marlene asked. "Why do you want me to be able to leave the zoo so bad?"

"Because you deserve to," Skipper replied. "You deserve to come out for snow cones with us. You deserve to experience what the world and life has to offer. And most of all, you deserve to rise above this obstacle that I know you can overcome."

"Skipper, this is a big decision," Marlene said. "Can I think it over and tell you what I decide tomorrow?"

"Of course," Skipper said.

"And you won't lose respect for me if I decide not to?" Marlene asked. "Or if I decide to try and fail?"

"Don't worry," Skipper said, "you'll always be my favorite mammal."

Skipper then got up from the couch and waddled over to the secret panel in the floor of Marlene's habitat where some dynamite was stored, just one of many such compartments of secret explosives that the penguins had hidden throughout the zoo. He opened it up and reached down to get a stick.

"You don't mind if I grab a stick of dynamite before I leave, do you, Marlene?" Skipper asked.

"Well, it is your dynamite," she replied.

Skipper then took the stick with him as he waddled over to take the surveillance tape out of the VCR. He then made his way to the door.

"I'll be back tomorrow morning," Skipper said. "I know you'll make the right decision."

With that, Skipper left Marlene's habitat. Five minutes later, the tape was blown to smithereens.


	2. The Rise

At around 0930 the next morning, Skipper left the HQ to head over to see Marlene to find out her decision on if she would be willing to give leaving the zoo grounds another shot. A few minutes later, he arrived at the door of her habitat and knocked.

"Good morning, Marlene," Skipper greeted when she came to open the door.

"Hi, Skipper," Marlene said as she let him in, though uncharacteristically with flat emotion. "I've been dreading this all morning and most of last night."

"Oh, come on, Marlene, I'm not that bad," Skipper joked to try to cheer her up a little.

"You're not bad at all," Marlene responded. "It's just that I'm so conflicted about whether I should make another attempt at leaving the zoo or not."

"Well, what's the conflict?" Skipper asked.

"On one hand, I don't want to go at all," Marlene said. "On the other, the trust I have in you tells me that you'd never lead me wrong. So it all comes down to my personal desire to do nothing and the trust I have in my heart."

"The heart has to win," Skipper stated.

"That sounds like something I would normally say," Marlene commented.

"You did say it," Skipper said. "You mentioned it as a tip to me and the boys before a mission once, but I dismissed it as not a viable option for our operation. But today it seems the best tactic to follow."

"I'm afraid you're right," Marlene said. "Congratulations, you win."

"No, _you_ win," Skipper declared. "Well, at least you will win when this is all over. I appreciate that you trust me enough to give it a go. We won't let you down."

"_We_?" Marlene asked.

"I mentioned to the boys this morning about how I had asked you yesterday about trying to leave the zoo again," Skipper clarified. "They all told me that they were more than willing to assist if you indeed decided to try once more."

"No, forget it, then," Marlene suddenly declared. "I'm not going to embarrass myself in front of an audience again."

"They're your friends, too, Marlene," Skipper stated. "You know that we're all good guys. They're not going to mind anything that you might do out there – they're all rooting for you to pull it off."

"Skipper, yes," Marlene began, "all of you guys are my friends, but–"

Marlene reached a paw out and put it on Skipper's shoulder; he knew what she was going to say next.

"But this is just one of those things that you'd only want me to do," Skipper responded. "Is that what I'm sensing?"

Marlene had always valued her friendships with the penguins, lemurs, and chimpanzees, but although she could count on all of her friends to support her when she needed it, there were just some things that she would only let Skipper help her on, for she trusted him the most.

"I don't mind if the other penguins want to help with their ideas and strategy," Marlene said, "but if I'm going to have to go back into Central Park, I need it to only be you there with me. Is that OK?"

"If having just me out in the park with you is what you need, then it's fine by me," Skipper said. "Heck, if for some strange reason you only wanted Rico with you, I would arrange that, too."

Marlene smiled the first smile she had all morning.

"I knew you'd understand," she said. "So, how do we move this crazy operation forward?"

"Well, I can start by telling you what some of the boys' suggestions were," Skipper said. "Rico suggested – and even regurgitated for use – that you try wearing a blindfold, Private said that he'd be willing to do a little psychoanalysis, and I suggest we just try to walk a few feet into the park and see what happens first."

"Did Kowalski have any suggestions?" Marlene asked. "I would have figured that he would have thought of something scientific."

"We won't be going into Kowalski's suggestions," Skipper declared.

"Come on, Skipper, I want to know," Marlene persisted.

Skipper seemed to shudder a little.

"OK, but they're a little, well, off," Skipper said. "He suggested a lobotomy followed by strong doses of Thorazine. I objected right away. I told him, 'Kowalski, I am not going to have part of Marlene's brain removed and then have her put on nutcase pills. That ain't gonna fly, man, that ain't gonna fly.'"

"Scary thoughts," Marlene said. "Thanks for sticking up for me."

"Sure thing," Skipper replied. "But in all fairness to Kowalski, I don't think that he was thinking straight this morning. He had a long night at his chemistry set last night and didn't get good ventilation. I think some of the fumes may have gotten to him; he wouldn't have made those suggestions had he been thinking clearly."

"Yeah, that sounds about right," Marlene said. "So, what do we do first?"

"I think it would make the most sense to try out my idea of just walking into the park a few feet first," Skipper said. "That way I can see where you're at and determine what the next step should be."

"You want to grab a few tranquilizer darts from the veterinary station first in case I lose it and need to be taken down?" Marlene asked.

"No, though I should grab a few for when the next time Julien barges into our HQ uninvited," Skipper joked. "But in all seriousness, there is no reason to dart you if you 'lose it.' I'll be by your side and I'll just lead you out of the park to safety."

"All right, let's give it a try," Marlene said.

With that, the two left Marlene's habitat and walked together to the edge of the zoo. There, Marlene paused and looked at Skipper.

"I don't think I went crazy right away after entering the park, right?" Marlene asked.

"The surveillance video showed a full 22 seconds before the slightest indication that you couldn't handle it," Skipper stated. "I'm hoping that with me here you can get to at least 30 seconds on this first try. Are you ready?"

"Just walk in a few feet, right?" Marlene asked.

"That's the plan," Skipper said.

Marlene then crossed into the threshold of Central Park, walking about five feet into it before stopping. Skipper followed right behind, and began counting in his head from the moment Marlene had first entered.

"Feeling OK, Marlene?" Skipper asked as he crossed the 10-second mark in his count.

"So far, so good," she replied as she began to walk another five or so feet into the park.

At the 18-second mark, Marlene decided to slowly turn herself around so that she could see all that there was to see from where she stood from all angles. When she got back to the point she had started from, Skipper's count had reached the 42-second mark, and he was feeling pretty good until Marlene tapped him on the shoulder.

"I'm starting to feel lightheaded, Skipper," she said. "Get me out."

With that, Skipper took Marlene's paw in a flipper and walked her back the 10 or so feet into the zoo.

"You got to 42 seconds before you told me you needed to get out," Skipper then told her. "That is–"

"That is a failure," Marlene jumped in with.

"No, Marlene, what I was going to say was, 'That is the record,'" Skipper stated. "It's 20 seconds better than yesterday and 12 seconds better than what I had figured. It's the time to beat when you try it again."

"How many times do we have to try?" Marlene asked.

"I will never force you to do anything," Skipper began, "but I say as many times as it takes."

"Well, could we take a break before I try it again?" Marlene asked.

"Sure," Skipper said. "We can even use some of this time to stop by the HQ so I can get the blindfold from Rico and tell the boys that I'll be the only one going into the park with you."

"That sounds good," Marlene said.

Skipper and Marlene then walked over to the penguin habitat and then entered into the underground HQ.

"I see Marlene decided to give it a go," Private said upon seeing Skipper and Marlene entering together. "We're all ready to go whenever you are."

Kowalski and Rico then came over and stood next to Private, but Skipper told them that they would not be taking part in the actual exposure part of the operation.

"You boys can help with some ideas, but Marlene has decided that she only wants me to go into the park with her," Skipper told the others. "In fact, we were just in the park a few feet a few minutes ago and I think Marlene did really well on her first try. We're going to try it again shortly with Rico's blindfold idea, so, Rico, could you go get the blindfold that you regurgitated earlier?"

Rico then re-regurgitated the blindfold, having swallowed it again.

"For safe keeping," Rico said as he handed the blindfold to Skipper after first wringing out some of the digestive juices that had absorbed into the cloth.

"Hey, Skipper," Private then said, "since Marlene's here now, maybe it's a good time that I play psychiatrist?"

"It's up to Marlene," Skipper replied.

"If you think it would help, Private, I'll give it a try," Marlene said.

"It couldn't hurt," Private said as he waddled over to a chair across the room and sat down.

Marlene followed him and sat down in a chair next to him. Private then reached below his chair and retrieved the clipboard he had underneath it.

"OK, Marlene, say it with me: They're just feet, not love," Private said.

"I don't have a foot problem, Private," Marlene stated.

"Now Marlene, the first step to correcting your problem is admitting that you have one," Private told her.

"Private, I really don't have a problem with feet," Marlene insisted.

Private then glanced down at his notes.

"Ooh. I'm sorry, I was still on the same page of notes that I was on when I was talking to Mort," Private apologized. "Now please forget everything I just told you about Mort – I mean, about that guy – or gal – as I cannot discuss matters related to other patients with you."

"Yeah, like everybody doesn't already know that he has a problem with feet," Marlene commented.

"Once, he told me about – ah, never mind," Private said. "Let's talk about you not being able to leave the zoo."

"Well, I was born in captivity in California and, as you yourself saw yesterday, I apparently don't do too well outside of a zoo environment," Marlene said.

"Interesting," Private said as he scribbled down something in his notes. "Now tell me about your relationship with your parents."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Marlene asked.

"Almost always nothing," Private replied. "But they often ask things like that in the movies. OK, forget the parents thing, just tell me more about your inability to leave the zoo."

"There's really not much more to it," Marlene stated. "I had never left a zoo until yesterday and that's it."

Private sighed.

"Well, I guess that's all that we can do, then," Private said. "Sorry I couldn't be of more assistance."

"That's OK, Private," Marlene replied as she began to stand up. "It's been a good minute and a half taking to you."

"Hey, Marlene," Private then called to her, "good luck."

Marlene nodded, then went back over to Skipper.

"I'm ready to give the blindfold a try," she said.

On that note, Skipper and Marlene then left the HQ and headed back to the same spot where the zoo met Central Park that they had been at earlier. There, Skipper tied the blindfold in front of Marlene's eyes, which would prevent her from seeing the outside world once she entered it again.

"OK, Marlene, how many fingers am I holding up?" Skipper asked as he held a flipper in front of the blindfold to ensure that Marlene couldn't see.

"Skipper, you don't have any fingers," Marlene replied. "But I assure you that I can't see anything."

"Good," Skipper said. "Now since I don't want you to trip and fall, I'll hold your paw as we go into and out of the park. I will let go of you once we get in several feet, but I'll still be standing right next to you."

With that, Skipper led Marlene back into Central Park. Since she was blindfolded, Skipper thought that they should go deeper into the park, which they did, going about 50 feet into it this time. Just as he had earlier, Skipper counted the seconds ever since Marlene crossed into the park; unlike before, he was also able to begin counting the minutes.

"Rico is a mad genius," Skipper commented as he reached the eight-minute mark. "That blindfold idea really seems to be doing the trick."

Marlene continued to seem unaffected by being out in the outside world for 47 minutes, 55 seconds before reality began to catch up to her.

"Hey, Skipper," she at that point said, "even though I can't see, I think that just knowing that I'm outside of the zoo is slowly catching up to me. I feel a little shaky, so could we call it a day for today?"

Skipper nodded, but then he remembered that Marlene couldn't see him.

"Yes, we can call it a day," Skipper said as he took Marlene's paw in a flipper. "Let's go home."

And with that, Marlene's first day of trying to go back outside the zoo came to an end. Although she hadn't thought so at first, even Marlene was beginning to see her own potential at actually being able to get to a point where she could leave the zoo.

Once they got back on the zoo grounds, Marlene agreed to go with Skipper the next morning for more exposure to the outside world in Central Park.

And she just couldn't wait until 0800.


	3. The Fall

Yes, truly Marlene could not wait until 0800. Although she had agreed the day before to go with Skipper at that time for more outside world exposure, once 0730 came around, Marlene left her habitat to go over to the penguins' HQ to find out if Skipper was willing to begin a little bit early.

"Hey, Skipper," she called to him upon entering into the HQ, "can we go now? Please?"

Skipper, who was sitting at the table with the other penguins, put down his fish coffee and clapped his flippers together a few times.

"You know, yesterday morning you were debating about even wanting to give it a try at all, and now you want to go early," Skipper said as he smiled. "What a difference a day makes. Of course we can go now."

Skipper then chugged down what was left of his coffee and then stood up and waddled over to Marlene. He saluted his men, then left the HQ with her.

"OK, Marlene, day number two," Skipper said as he walked away from the HQ with her. "Today I'd like to have you walk into the park again without a blindfold, but this time will be a little different than when you first did it yesterday."

"How so?" Marlene asked.

"Well, rather than walk into the park a short distance and then stopping, I want to give just walking as deep into the park as you can a try," Skipper replied. "I'll walk alongside you as long and as far as you can handle."

"But when I get to the point that I want to leave, if we're too deep into the park, there might not be enough time to get me out before I totally turn into my wild self," Marlene stated with some concern. "Do you have a plan for that?"

"I have plans for about 30 different contingencies," Skipper replied. "Don't worry about any of that. Just stay focused and relaxed when you enter Central Park."

At that time, the two reached the same spot where the zoo ended and the park began that they had been to twice before. And for yet another time, Marlene entered the outside, but this time she and Skipper kept walking and walking deeper and deeper into the park.

Minutes passed, and even without the blindfold, Marlene seemed to be unaffected by being outside the zoo walls.

"You know, Marlene, you're doing great out here today," Skipper said proudly. "The third time's the charm. Today's the day you're going to be cured for good."

Skipper then looked to his left to see Marlene walking beside him, but she was no longer there. He looked to his right, but the case was the same. It was when he looked behind himself that Skipper saw where Marlene was, and that she hadn't made a breakthrough after all.

Once again, she had turned wild.

"Don't worry, Marlene, we can get through this," Skipper told the now-ferocious-looking otter as he held out a flipper for her. "Here, take my flipper and I'll walk you out of the park. Things will be OK, I promise."

Marlene either couldn't comprehend what Skipper was telling her or just chose to ignore it. She did not take her friend's flipper, and instead pushed him to the ground. As she then straddled him with her legs, Skipper fully expected to be subjected to the same romantic escapades that Julien had been days before, but such never came.

Instead, Marlene just stared at Skipper's face, and was completely silent as she did so. Throughout, Skipper remained calm and looked at Marlene with reassuring eyes, attempting to coax the real Marlene that Skipper knew was still inside of her to come out. But just as Skipper thought that he saw the twinkle in her eye, Marlene moved off of him and then reached down and picked him up, then, although Skipper was bigger than she was, lifted him up over her head a little.

After shaking him around a little in the air, Marlene carried Skipper over to the base of Cleopatra's Needle, the granite obelisk that she had carried Julien to the top of days before. She then positioned Skipper so she could climb up with him, and when they reached the top, she sat him down not far from the angled peak.

Again, Marlene got her face close to Skipper's and began to stare at him.

"Marlene, all you need to do is trust me and things will be OK," Skipper tried to tell her as she seemed poised to actually begin kissing him this time. "Remember, the heart has to win, and I know that being ferocious isn't what's really in your–"

But that's all that she would let him say before she pushed him off the top.

As Skipper tumbled down to the earth, a ferocious Marlene watched as he slammed into the ground. But as she took in the sight of the motionless penguin, her true feelings were suddenly triggered. Somehow, just as strangely and mysteriously as the freedom of the outside world had brought on insanity, the sight of her most trusted friend in peril restored a clear mind.

Marlene was normal again. And she always would be.

"My God, I've killed him!" Marlene shouted as she began climbing down the structure as fast as she could, clearly remembering everything that had happened in the brief time that she had been wild this time. "Make it a dream! Make it a dream! Dear God, make it a dream!"

Marlene was the most scared she had ever been in her life as she reached the bottom, but she knew that she had to go and see if Skipper had survived the fall. It was the most joyful moment she had ever known when she saw that he was still breathing, albeit unconsciously.

"Skipper, Skipper, please wake up!" she shouted through the tears as she rubbed him under a flipper. "It's the real Marlene here, and I need you! I swear I will jump off myself if I lose you!"

"You will do no such thing," Skipper declared as he then awoke. "The very thought of such should never even cross your mind."

There was suddenly an even more joyful moment in Marlene's life.

"Thank God! Thank God!" Marlene praised the Almighty as Skipper spoke to her. "I swear I didn't mean it! If nothing else, know I didn't mean it!"

Though he had only been able to move his eyes and his bill since the fall, Skipper didn't seem to care. For him at that moment, only Marlene mattered.

"Marlene, you're out in the park and you're the real you again," he said. "I knew that you could do it."

"But at what cost?" Marlene asked, feeling guilty that Skipper's kindness had nearly cost him his life.

"I've had worse," Skipper said, though Marlene knew that he was lying through his bill. "But if you could go down to the HQ and get the boys to come get me, I'd appreciate it. I might need a Band-Aid or two."

Marlene couldn't help but be a little heart-warmed by Skipper's humor despite what she had done to him. She also wasn't about to leave him alone and in pain to get the others when she could do something about it right then.

"That's OK, Skipper, I've got you," she said as she reached down and began to carry him in her arms. "I'll bring you over to the veterinary station, then I'll call the guys to come down."

Though Marlene found Skipper to be heavier then she had when she went wild, she managed, for he was not nearly as heavy as her heart. Throughout the walk to the veterinary station, Marlene carefully supported Skipper's neck, fearing it could be broken; he still hadn't yet moved anything beyond his face. No veterinarians were on duty that day, which was actually beneficial, for the penguins would be able to have free run of the place to help their injured leader. After placing Skipper up on the examination table in the vet's office, Marlene went to the phone to call down the other penguins.

At the penguins' HQ, Kowalski answered; Marlene didn't mince words with what she had to say or with who was to blame.

"_Kowalski, it's Marlene. I hurt Skipper. Bring the others down to the veterinary station. Hurry."_

About two minutes after receiving the call, the other three penguins arrived at the veterinary station. Upon entering, Private and Rico went over to Skipper to begin assisting him, while Marlene approached Kowalski to inform the second-in-command penguin about what had gone wrong.

"Kowalski, I didn't mean to do it," she began, "but I went wild again for a few minutes. I carried Skipper to the top of the tower–"

"Obelisk," Kowalski corrected.

"Whatever it was, I pushed Skipper off the top of it," Marlene continued. "Do you have any idea how high of a drop that was?"

"Sixty-nine feet, two inches from the tip to the ground," Kowalski replied.

"Well, after I saw Skipper hit the ground, it somehow triggered the real me to come back," Marlene said. "I was so scared that he was dead, and now I'm so afraid that I may have paralyzed him. You will help him, won't you?"

"Of course we'll help Skipper," Kowalski replied. "Thank you for filling me in on the details. You can go home now."

"I can't leave Skipper until I know what I've done to him," Marlene declared. "I need to stay by his side."

"I'm sure that Skipper wouldn't want a crowd around him right now," Kowalski replied. "Don't worry, I'll come by and tell you his condition later."

"No, I'm not leaving, Kowalski," Marlene affirmed.

"No, she's not," Skipper called over, having overheard what Marlene had been discussing with Kowalski. "Even if Marlene didn't want to be here, I'd want her to be here."

The fact that Skipper still wanted her around after what she had done to him made Marlene feel all the more shameful for what she had caused. She then left Kowalski and went over to Skipper.

"Skipper, you have never hurt me, and look what I have done to you," Marlene said with tremendous guilt as she placed a paw on Skipper and began to cry. "This is the worst day of my life. This is the worst thing I have ever done."

"Marlene, helping you be able to experience more that life has to offer is one of the _best_ things that I have ever done," Skipper told her. "Don't feel bad for me, my condition is temporary. But the freedom you now have to go into the outside world, that is yours to keep forever."

"I'd much rather be a zoo otter than to have caused harm to a good friend," Marlene said.

"But I'd much rather have you join us on a sushi mission in Brooklyn, and now you can," Skipper stated. "I may be a little dinged-up now, but you're worth it."

"Worth almost killing or maybe now paralyzing you?" Marlene asked. "Say what you want, but I'll never forgive myself for doing this to you."

"_You_ did nothing," Skipper told her. "A strange, sharp-toothed otter did this to me when she couldn't control herself. But the Marlene I know, the Marlene standing beside me right now, has not a sin on her soul."

"How do you do it, Skipper?" Marlene asked. "Yes, the otter I am now could never throw you off an obelisk, but how can you ignore that hurting you was still done by my hand?"

"Because I–" Skipper began before Kowalski interrupted, wanting to begin a few tests.

"Gotta touch the feet, sir," Kowalski said as he pressed on Skipper's feet a little with his flippers. "Do you feel anything?"

"I don't know if Mort would ever want to touch my feet or not, but I'm glad that he's not the one doing this to me right now regardless," Skipper joked. "But seriously, Kowalski, I do feel it. I still have feeling everywhere, actually."

"That's good," Kowalski said as he let go of Skipper's feet. "Can you move anything?"

Skipper tried for a few moments, but he still couldn't move anything except for his face.

"Well, the fact that you at least still have feeling tells me that this is not a complete spinal cord injury," Kowalski said. "If I had access to a magnetic resonance imaging machine – what the laymen call an _MRI_ – I could tell for sure, but for now my gut tells me that you likely have a bruised spinal cord. You'll probably be able to move and walk again, but I'm not quite sure when. Any other areas to address, sir?"

"Well, the left flipper is hurting me a bit," Skipper said.

On that note, Kowalski used the X-ray machine above the examination table to take a radiograph of Skipper's left flipper. He then processed the film, and when ready, analyzed it.

"The ulna is indeed fractured, but we can fix that," Kowalski stated as he looked at the X-ray. "But there also appears to be an old injury to the radius. Did you ever break your flipper before, Skipper?"

"Well, seeing as we could all use a little comic relief, I'll tell you about that – just don't laugh too hard," Skipper said. "I once tried to fly. I was two months old and naïve and in Pittsburgh at the time; I jumped off a rock display and came down hard on my left side. Embarrassed by it, I never let anyone know and I just let the bone heal on its own."

"Well, we're going to immobilize this the right way this time," Kowalski said as he began to wrap Skipper's left flipper with some cotton cloth that Rico had regurgitated in preparation for a cast to be applied to it.

Watching Skipper have to go through all these procedures was beginning to take its toll on Marlene, who was still at his side. Though she had vowed to stay with him, she finally reached her breaking point. She had to leave.

Tears in her eyes, she gave Skipper a pat on his head, saying nothing as she did so, before silently walking out of the veterinary station.

She needed her space. She needed some time. She needed Skipper. She needed God.


	4. In My Darkest Hour

**PART ONE: **_**HEAR MY PRAYER**_

At the time Marlene left the zoo veterinary station, it was only about 0845 in the morning, but the only place she wanted to go was back to bed. Although she had gotten up at 0615 to get ready to go with Skipper, she just wanted the day to be over; in fact, she wished that the day had never happened in the first place.

Once she got back to her habitat, Marlene did in fact climb back into her bed. She was so shaken up by what had happened in the park that she desperately needed someone to tell her that everything would be OK, but unfortunately for her the friend that she needed the most was the same one that she had hurt.

Since Skipper couldn't be there, Marlene decided that she needed to talk to an old friend that, while she had never met the man before, had never led her wrong. She had known this man for most of her life, so she folded her paws to contact him.

"Dear Lord, I come before you as – well, I don't even know how to describe myself at this point," Marlene began. "But my actions today have hurt someone I really care about, someone who has always helped me when I needed it, someone who has never laid a flipper on me in bad taste. It's true that I was not in my right mind when I pushed Skipper off the top of the obelisk, but I don't really believe in insanity defenses – this I have to carry with me for the rest of my life. But the worst part of all is not how I feel; the worst part is what happened to Skipper. If there's anyone who needs your help now, no one is more deserving than Skipper. I don't mean to sound biased, but truly Skipper is the best friend that I have ever known here on Earth. Please, if you can, don't let him be paralyzed. This I pray from my heart and in your name, amen."

Unbeknownst to Marlene, just as she was finishing her prayer, Skipper, when the other penguins had stepped out of the room for a moment, was about to start one. Still not able to move much of anything, Skipper was unable to fold his flippers or bow his head, but he was able to shut his eyes as he initiated his prayer.

"Dear God, it's me, Skipper," he began to pray. "I know that I am but a lowly recruit and that you are a 10-star general, but I humbly request a favor, sir. As I'm sure that you know, a good friend of mine, Marlene, pushed me off the top of a granite structure in Central Park today, putting me in the condition that I am now in. But I'm not here to talk about me, I'm here to talk about her. She feels so much guilt about what she did even though I know – and I have told her that I know – that she didn't mean to do it. You know her heart, too, and also know that she didn't mean it. So what I guess I'm asking is that you watch over her and protect her and help her to realize that I truly hold nothing against her. You know, in all honesty, seeing Marlene be able to smile again would mean more to me than being able to walk again. Please help her. Amen."

Both Marlene and Skipper meant every word of their respective prayers, which had little to do with themselves and almost everything to do with each other. It was a similarity that existed in both of their hearts; they had more in common than they realized.

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

**PART TWO: **_**ONE WEIGHT LIFTED OFF MY SHOULDERS**_

Throughout the next several days that followed her pushing Skipper off the obelisk in Central Park, Marlene remained in the indoor part of her habitat in a kind of self-imposed isolation. The passing of time was not helping; she had trouble sleeping and considered herself to be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. She had at one point thought of both leaving the zoo for good and of obtaining tranquilizers at the veterinary station to try to calm her anxiety, but in the back of her mind she heard Skipper telling her not to do either.

Meanwhile, as Marlene sat down in a chair to begin yet another day of solitude, Kowalski returned to the penguins' HQ to report to Skipper on his meeting with Roger the alligator.

"We have confirmation that Marlene is still here," Kowalski then stated. "Roger told me that he has been hearing her cry a lot at night lately, and while that's not the greatest news, at least it suggests that Marlene is just choosing to stay inside."

Skipper sighed, as Kowalski's report now confirmed what Skipper had been thinking all along: that Marlene was still hurting from what had happened in the park six days prior. Such thoughts – and now a reality – were taking their toll on Skipper, as it hurt him to know that Marlene was hurting.

"Kowalski, I don't know how much more of this I can take," Skipper said. "Marlene is all alone feeling bad about herself, and I so would like to just see her so I can help her. But I also understand that she needs some time to herself to just think and be able to move on. I just know that I'm not going to be quite with it until I see her again."

Overhearing Skipper and Kowalski's conversation was Private, who was himself concerned with Skipper's ever-growing depressive state. Private then made a decision that he knew Skipper would not approve of, so he secretly snuck out of the HQ as Skipper and Kowalski continued talking, figuring that he would not be noticed as missing for at least 15 minutes or so.

He then waddled over to Marlene's habitat and knocked on her door.

"Hey, Marlene, it's Private," he said. "Can I talk to you for just a moment?"

Inside, Marlene was sitting on her couch. Although she wanted to just be left alone, she didn't have the heart to tell the young penguin to go away.

"Are you alone?" Marlene called out.

"Yes," Private replied. "And no one else even knows I'm here."

"OK, come in," Marlene said. "But only for a moment."

Private then entered and waddled over to Marlene. He was a bit startled and a bit concerned with Marlene's appearance, her eyes being red, fur unkempt, and appearing to be overall sluggish.

"Are you OK?" he asked.

"Physically, yes," Marlene replied. "Now what was it that you wanted to see me about?"

"I'm worried about Skipper," Private said. "The fact that you've been here in your habitat feeling bad all these days makes him sad. In other words, Skipper's knowing that you're upset is upsetting to him. I think it's depression."

"As if I hadn't done enough to Skipper already," Marlene said sadly. "First, I try to kill him. Second, I paralyze him. Now–"

"Skipper can walk," Private interrupted with. "He's not paralyzed."

"Since when?" Marlene asked.

"Since about an hour after you left the veterinary station six days ago," Private stated. "We brought him back to the HQ, and soon after he stood up."

"Well, that's great news," Marlene said. "Maybe one of these days I can even drag my sorry self out of here and go see him."

"I think he would like that," Private said. "It would really cheer him up."

Marlene gave off a little smile.

"OK, Private, if that's all you have to tell me, I'd kind of like to be alone again," she then said. "Please don't be offended, because it's nothing against you or anyone else, I'm just going through a very difficult part of my life right now."

Private nodded.

"OK, Marlene," he said as he then waddled over to the door. "Take care of yourself."

As Private left, Marlene suddenly felt a lot better having learned that Skipper was not paralyzed. Although she was still far from letting things go, she at least no longer had that particular weight on her shoulders.

She decided right then and there that she would see Skipper the next morning.


	5. A Symbol of Success

A full week after pushing Skipper off the obelisk, Marlene planned to drop by the penguins' HQ for a visit. Inside a plastic bucket she carried with her was a special surprise for Skipper and some of her other friends.

"Skipper? Guys?" she called out upon entering the HQ, Skipper then coming over to where Marlene was.

"Hi, Marlene," he said. "It's just me here right now. The boys went out for some recon work themselves since I'm still on the DL."

Marlene then felt the sudden need to reach out and give Skipper a hug, which she did; Skipper put up no resistance, and even joined in.

"I'm so glad to see that you're up and walking around already," Marlene said. "I have something for you."

Marlene reached inside the bucket and pulled out one of the nine rainbow snow cones that she had brought over from the stand in Central Park. Maybe it was just the way the lighting of the room was, but Marlene swore that she saw the smallest tear in Skipper's eye as she handed him his frozen treat.

"You left the zoo to get a snow cone for me?" Skipper asked.

"Not just for you, I've got enough for all of my closest friends," she replied.

"Well, it really means a lot to me that you went out and did this," Skipper said as he lifted his snow cone a little bit higher. "You know, this isn't just a snow cone to me, it's a symbol of success. Success for you, in that you were able to go outside the zoo walls; success for me in whatever small role I had played in it. It's almost a shame – albeit a tasty shame – that I can't just keep this snow cone up on a shelf to look at forever."

"Oh, Skipper, that's so sweet," Marlene said.

"You're right, Marlene, this snow cone is sweet," Skipper said as he took a bite of it, though he winked at Marlene because he knew what she really meant.

When Skipper finished his snow cone a short few minutes later, Marlene reached out and touched the cast on his left flipper.

"Can we talk about this?" she asked as she then sat down.

"If it would help you feel better," Skipper replied as he sat next to her.

"Skipper, part of me is ashamed to be here with you right now," Marlene said. "That's why it took me a week to even come here and face you."

"Face me?" Skipper asked. "Don't you know already that I hold nothing against you?"

"It's just that I couldn't face the reality of what I did to you," Marlene replied. "I hurt you."

"Marlene, you want to know the truth about something?" Skipper said as he placed a flipper around Marlene's back. "The injuries are a week old; they don't really hurt much anymore. But what's hurting me more than anything is seeing you unable to just let this all go. I forgive you, Marlene, now for God's sake, forgive yourself. Please let this go so I don't have to hurt anymore."

Marlene then realized that she didn't have much of a choice. Although she felt horrible for what she had done to Skipper a week ago, if forgiving herself was what Skipper needed her to do to feel better, then she'd have to do it.

"For you, Skipper, and only because I know it's what you want and what you need," Marlene said, "I will let my actions go. I forgive myself."

"Thank you," Skipper said as he began to give Marlene a hug. "You know, I'm glad to see you again. I've missed you the past–"

The other three penguins then suddenly returned into the HQ, and the lemurs were for some reason following behind them.

"Kowalski, I said I was putting you in charge of 'recon' today, not 'ring-tail,'" Skipper stated to his first lieutenant as the group entered.

"Sorry, sir," Kowalski replied. "They just followed us. You know how the lemurs are."

"Unfortunately, I do," Skipper said.

"Skipper," Marlene then said, "since everybody is here anyway, could you help me pass out my other snow cones to everyone?"

"Sure," he said as he began to distribute a few one by one from the bucket with his good flipper, Marlene also passing some of them out herself.

After the rest had been handed out, Marlene then took the last snow cone in the bucket, but Skipper was still holding onto one which he was helping to pass out. He looked around to make sure that everyone had one, which they did. Since he had already had his snow cone earlier, Skipper then brought the extra one back to Marlene.

"It seems that we have an extra one," he told Marlene as he began to hand it to her.

"Nope, that one's yours," Marlene said.

"But I already had mine," Skipper said.

Marlene winked at him.

"Like I said, that one's yours," she said.

Skipper smiled to acknowledge Marlene's friendly gesture.

"You know, Marlene, I don't think a snow cone is a symbol of success anymore," Skipper said. "You are. And you're a whole lot sweeter and you won't melt away."

"Skipper, you're the best," Marlene said as she gave Skipper a quick kiss on the cheek, the second time that she had recently done so.

Since they were too busy eating their own snow cones, no one else in the room saw it. As Marlene pulled away from him, Skipper smiled slightly, though he smiled a bit more on the inside.

"Come with me," he told Marlene as he led her behind a shelf.

"I'm sorry, Skipper, are you mad?" Marlene asked apologetically.

"No, Marlene, I'm not mad," he told her. "But that's the second time in recent memory that you've done that to me."

"And?" Marlene wondered.

"Well, this is all just so one-sided; one of these days I am going to have to make things even," Skipper said. "Of course, I'd be sure it's OK with you first."

Skipper probably never anticipated what Marlene's response would then be.

"Well, Skipper," she said, "whenever you're ready, come find me."

It was probably a good thing that Marlene had given Skipper two snow cones, for the second one suddenly dropped to the floor. And Skipper couldn't care less.

"I found you," Skipper said as he gave Marlene one quick kiss on her cheek. "But the second one I'm saving for Central Park."


End file.
